New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has delivered the first batch of 25 indigenously developed ultra-lightweight active wheelchairs to the Army Hospital (Research and Referral) in Delhi Cantonment, beginning the rollout of a 100-wheelchair initiative supported through a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) partnership with Fiserv.

The remaining 75 wheelchairs will be supplied in subsequent phases as part of the programme, which is aimed at strengthening rehabilitation support for veterans, serving personnel, and their dependents.

Developed by IIT Madras and manufactured by its incubated startup Thryv Mobility, the YD One wheelchair has been designed for independent self-propulsion. The product has been built in collaboration with the institute's TTK Center for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2), with a focus on providing lightweight, high-performance mobility solutions designed for Indian users.

Lt General Avinash Das, Commandant, Army Hospital (R&R), said, "Mobility is fundamental to dignity and independence. We welcome this contribution from IIT Madras and Fiserv, which will directly support our patients and their families in regaining and maintaining mobility through devices designed and built in India."

Prof. Manish Anand, Faculty, IIT Madras and R2D2, stated, "This handover represents what IIT Madras's R2D2 was established to achieve, indigenous engineering for assistive technologies that meet the needs of Indian users at global standards."

Sachin Kulkarni, President, Global Services, Fiserv, added, "Partnering with IIT Madras to deliver indigenously developed mobility solutions to the Armed Forces Medical Services brings together engineering excellence and meaningful social outcomes, exactly the kind of collaboration our CSR vision is built around."

Justin Jesudas, CEO and Co-founder, Thryv Mobility, said, "The YD One was designed and built in India to serve Indian users without compromise on quality. To see it now reaching the men and women of the Armed Forces, through the leadership of IIT Madras and the support of Fiserv, is the deepest validation of why this product exists."

The initiative also includes civil-military coordination support led by Rear Admiral Deepak Bansal (Retd.). According to IIT Madras, the programme is intended to introduce active mobility into the rehabilitation process by enabling users to move independently through assistive devices developed and manufactured in India.

BI Bureau